Exelixis Inc. has signed a license agreement with Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth related to compounds targeting the farnesoid X receptor (FXR), a nuclear hormone receptor implicated in a variety of metabolic and liver disorders.
Under the terms of the agreement, Exelixis will receive a $10 million upfront payment and may also receive up to an additional $147.5 million in development and commercialisation milestone payments as well as royalties on the sale of products commercialised under the collaboration. Wyeth will be responsible for all further preclinical and clinical development, regulatory, manufacturing and commercialisation activities for the compounds, claims a company release.
"This transaction with Wyeth is a further demonstration of the quality of our drug discovery programs. It provides Exelixis with $10 million in near- term capital to help support the ongoing development of our promising pipeline of cancer therapies, and allows us to share in the future value of the FXR program through milestones and royalties," said George A. Scangos, president and chief executive officer of Exelixis.
"Wyeth, with its strong commitment to building a leading presence in metabolic diseases, is an ideal organisation to take on the development of the FXR programme," continued Scangos.
"This collaboration complements our growing pipeline and overall strategy of discovering and developing new treatments for patients with abnormal lipid metabolism that is associated with the development of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases," said George P. Vlasuk, vice president of cardiovascular and metabolic disease research at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.
According to Vlasuk, the role of the FXR nuclear receptor in several key biochemical steps involved in maintaining the balance of various lipids through the regulation of bile acid synthesis makes it an attractive drug development target for several high need clinical indications. We look forward to bringing this exciting class of FXR modulators to the clinic in the near future.]
FXR is a member of the nuclear hormone receptor super family and functions as a receptor for bile acids. Regulation of FXR with endogenous ligands, such as chenodeoxycholic acid, leads to a series of transcriptional responses that regulate triglyceride, cholesterol and bile acid metabolism.
Exelixis Inc. is a biotechnology company that discovers and develops novel therapeutics that will potentially enhance the care and lives of patients with cancer and other serious diseases.